Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Shall we proceed?

I often heard my parents talk about the major historical moments they were blessed to live through and I envied them for having witnessed history. Humans walking on the moon, The Civil Rights movement, 1968 (wink) and so many more monumental moments that they felt wash over them in real time.

So, I’m more than a little emotional to have watched one such moment last night.

I wish Ms. Fannie Lou Hamer were alive to witness this Democratic campaign. What would she have made of it? What would it feel like to have survived the struggle to secure the protected vote for people of color…to have been beaten, threatened, patronized, ignored and then grudgingly listened to…and then to see a person of color move through the political process to win the nomination of his party?

I wish Ms. Shirley Chisholm were alive too. Oh, to sit and talk to her about the history of a woman and a man of color energizing the Democratic Party as never before...to debate the happenings of this campaign with her and to relish the history made by two dynamic campaigns that were built on the foundation she made so many years ago.

And I wish my father were alive today. He who walked so that I may run, stood up so that I could do so without fear and spoke truth to power so that my right to do so would be protected...how I wish I could have watched this moment with him.

But the future is before us now. My Voter Education students watched history unfold this election year and again last night. Through them I know that we can and will build a better community and a stronger more just nation. In them I see the history yet to be made...the Get Out The Vote efforts soon to be volunteered for, the phone banking that isn’t even scheduled, the rallies that aren’t even on the calendar yet, the first votes not yet cast and the change that will be made.

The dust will settle and then my students and this bitch will turn our attention to Missouri and the change we desperately need here today.

13 comments:

Kateg... Ms. Shirley encountered more than her fair share of conserv. black male dems so I doubt that and Fannie Lou was a woman active in a movement dominated by Southern black preachers so I doubt she'd be shocked either.

But that's not what you were getting at anymore than it is the subject of my post.

It’s going to be a hella fight until Election Day folks. I’m sending $$$ to Obama’s campaign today. We’ll need every last cent we can pool to wrest the White House from McCain and his fascist pals. The battle has only just begun. Donate now.

kateg, while you're waiting for angels from heaven McCain will win. Remember: politics is the art of the possible.

I too have witnessed many of recent history's events, and am old enough to have gone through "colored" doors. So last night was historic, and tearful for me. I called my ex to make sure my daughters were watching, and they were.

The thing that still puzzles me is the label thing. Why does being half black equal being black? And by that I mean why does the media dismiss his WHITE heritage, and as a result denigrate his mother? Of course, a "true" white woman could never have done what has resulted in Barack Obama. America, get over yourself. You can't keep giving that "give me your tired, you hungry,..." speech, then treat your Democratic Nominee the way you continue to do. Being the first-Havard Law Review Editor, Dem Nominee-means no one like you came before. Which can translate into you likely have more in common with one group versus the other. I somehow feel that the old joke will still be told in white America: what do you call a Black Senator who was Editor of Law Review and is now the Democratic Nominee? Nigger...

I have really been moved by Obama's campaign and his big win. I will support his campaign and hopefully help him win the White House.

Ms. Shark-fu, did you hear the NPR story about the reactions of African Americans to Obama's win? They interviewed folks in your own town! Check it out. I thought of you and your Voter Ed group as I listened.

Watching Obama give such a powerful speech and then seeing him move through that multiracial, multi-ethnic crowd of American voters of all ages and watching the faces of people who -- and you could see this in their eyes -- felt privileged just to be in his presence...well, it ws a beautiful thing, and something that I never thought I would see in my lifetime.

Thank you, Barack Obama, for giving me this opportunity to be a part of history.

Yes all of those who came before us would be proud of the symbolism on display. Now we need to strategize and make sure we actually demand something for our support and have our interests looked after instead of seeking a hand-out. We must have a seat [or 2 or 3] at the table of power.